Hepatitis B, a Global Disease? On Some Paradoxes of the Construction of Global Health Problems

This chapter focuses on the framing process of global diseases and its impact on the importance given to certain issues in global health arenas and not others. Using the case of Hepatitis B, a disease largely ignored until recently, despite causing one million deaths every year, it explores the (non)construction of global health problems. The invisibility of the disease is linked to the existence of a vaccine and to the routines of health institutions. Then, it emphasizes the links between the framing of an emerging global problem (Viral Hepatitis) and its possible solutions. Both depend on the beliefs and habits of the individuals involved. The attention given to several blind spots in the global response to the problem accentuates some paradoxes of the construction of global health problems.